Refrigerating unit



March 15, 1932.

F. E. DENNISON REFRIGERATING UNIT Filed Jul 21, 1926 5 JO 2 I5! I yJfiz/erafor faiwfimlzfizlsvlz 6 JM ZMAZLOW 0%;

Patented Mar. 15, 1932 UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE FRENCH E. DENNISON, OF BELOIT, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TONATIONAL REFRIGERA- 'I'ION CORPORATION, OF BELOIT, WISCONSIN, ACORPORATION OF DELAWARE REFRIGERATING UNI'I Application filed July 21,

(: er types known as household refrigerating systems.

One of the primary purposes of my present invention is to provide anapparatus whlch will be small and compact, so as to occupy a minimum ofspace, and one which at the same time will be economical to manufactureand operate and which will be efficient and durable in use.

With these ends in view, my invention contemplates the construction of acondenser 1n tubular form so that a maximum area for the conduction ofheat units away from the refrigerant will be exposed, and the mount ingof the compressor and the meansfor dr ving the same and the means forcooling the motor and the compressor entirely within the condenser,thereby providing a small and compact unit which can be readily mountedupon the top of an ordinary household refrigerator.

Among the desirable features possessed by an apparatus constructed inthis manner may be mentioned the following The condenser presents amaximum of exposed area in proportion to its cubical content, therebyfacilitating the condensatlon of the refrigerating medium therein andfurthermore not only is the exterior of the condenser subject to thecooling effect of the surrounding atmosphere or liquid, but the interioras well is cooled by the flow of air or liquid therethrough induced bythe fan or pump, which also cools the motor, the compressor and thecondenser.

The motor and compressor are both housed and inclosed within thecylindrical condenser so that they are adequately protected from injuryto themselves and their moving parts are covered so as to affordprotection against injury to others.

The motor, compressor and fan are all carried on a base which may heslid into and out from the condenser, thereby making the constructioneasy to assemble and at the same 1926. Serial No. 123,991.

time easy to disassemble for inspection or repairs.

The structure presents a pleasing and attractive appearance so that itis not objectionable in a kitchen or other conspicuous place and isreadily accessible should the necessity for inspection or repairs arise.

These and other objects are accomplished by providing a construction andan arrangement of the various parts in the manner hereinafter describedand particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing one embodiment ofmy improved refrigerating unit, and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing my self-contained refrigeratingunit mounted on a refrigerating or storage casing.

In illustrating one embodiment of my invention, I have shown the same ascompris ing a cylindrical hollow or tubular member 10 having outwardlyoffset ends 11. Mounted on the tubular member 10 in contact with theoffset portion 11 is an outer tubular casing 12 forming a tubularchamber 13 between these two tubular members. The opposite ends of theouter tubular casing member 12 are rolled inwardly around the offsetportions 11 of the tubular member 10 as shown at 14, so as to embracethese offset portions and secure the outer casing 12 to the innercasingmember 10. The chamber 13 formed between these two cylindicalcasing members is sealed by having the casing member soldered as shownat 15, or if it is found desirable the adjacent ends of thesecylindrical members may be seam-welded. These cylindrical members whenthus secured together form a cylindrical condenser unit in which therefrigerant is spread out over a wide area in the tubular chamber,affording a maximum radiation and conduction surface for the refrigerantin the manner illustrated and described in my pending application,Serial No. 120,355, filed July 3, 1926.

Mounted within the condenser is a compressor, generally indicated by thereference character 16. While the compressor shown is of the rotarytype, it will, of course, be understood that any other form ofcompressor such as the reciprocating type may be employed. Thecompressor 16 is mounted within and positioned at one end of thecylindrical condenser unit and is operatively driven by an electricmotor, generally referred to by reference character 17, which in turn ismounted in the other end of the condenser unit and operatively connectedwith the compressor 16 by the means of the universal or flexibleconnection 18. Mounted adjacent the universal connection 18 and securedto the shaft of the motor 17 is a rotary fan 19 which is operativelydriven by the electric motor for causing the air to circulate throughthe condenser unit, cooling the electric motor and compressor as well asexpediting the condensation of the refrigerant within the chambercondenser 13 of the unit. The'electric motor 17 and the compressor 16are secured to and supported on a base or frame 20. The base or frame 20consists of a board which is adapted to be mounted within the innertubular casing 12. The electric motor 17 and compressor 16 are securedto the board 20 in any well known manner so that if it becomes necessaryto remove the motor and compressor for the purpose of inspection orrepair, they may be readily slid out on the skid or board 20. Therefrigerant is supplied to the chamber 13 of the condenser unit by theconduit 21, which communicates with the compressor 16 at one end and isprovided with a shut-off valve 22. The valve is connected to the tubularchamber 13 of the condenser unit by a second conduit 23.

The refrigerant is discharged from the tubular chamber 13 of thecondenser through a conduit 24, which extends through one of thesupporting blocks 25. mounted on the refrigerating or storage casing 26for supporting the complete unit, and communicates through an expansionvalve with the expansion coils (not shown) located within the coolingchamber upon which the unit is mounted. The return pipe 26 from theexpansion coil extends through the other supporting block 27. Theconduit 26 extends through both casing members 10 and 12 and isconnected to a second conduit 28 by a union 29. The other end of theconduit 28 communicates with intake side of the compressor 16 as shownat 30.

Both ends of the cylindrical condenser unit are provided with detachableend covers 31 which in turn are provided with peripheral flanges 32 forfrictionally engaging the outer ends of the cylindrical casing member12. These covers 31 are provided with a. plurality of perforations 33which extend around the covers adjacent the periphery and permit thecurrents of air generated by the fan to pass freely through the unitfrom end to end. The complete unit is secured to the top of the storageor refrigerating casing 26, or other suitable part of the refrigeratingstorage casing 26 by suitable straps 34 whic embrace the unit and havetheir opposite ends secured to the res ective blocks 25 and 27 by bolts35.

In t e operation of my improved refrigerating device, the electric motormay be thrown: into operation by a thermostatic switch, causing therotary compressor 16 and fan 19 to be driven thereby. The compressed gasis delivered through the conduits 21 and 23 into the condensing chamber13 formed between the cylindrical walls 10 and 12. When the refrigerantis discharged into the chamber 13 it is spread over a wide area in arelatively thin sheet to facilitate its condensation, after which it isdischarged through the conduit 24 into the expansion coils in therefrigerating casing 26, thence returned through the conduits 26 and 28back to the compressor.

If for any reason it should be found necessary to remove the electricmotor and compressor for inspection or repairs, both covers 31 may beremoved from the unit and the union 29 and the pipe 21 disconnected,permitting the board 20 to be withdrawn from one end of the unit,carrying with it the motor 17 and the com ressor 16.

From the above escription, it will be readily seen that I have not onlyprovided a simple, eflicient, and compact refrigerating unit which notonly contains the complete parts of the high side of a mechanicalrefrigerating system, but also utilizes the condenser unit as a casingfor inclosing the other parts of the mechanical refrigerating apparatus.It will also be seen that by providing a. rotary fan mounted within theunit operatively driven by the motor, the fan in addition to cooling themotor and compressor also expedites the condensation of the refrigerantby causing a rapid circulation of air through the refrigerating unit.

While in the above specification I have described one embodiment whichmy invention may assume in practice, it will, of course, be understoodthat the same is capable of modification and that modification may beemployed without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention asexpressed in the following claims.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a cylindrical condenser open ateach end and having a condensing chamber formed in the cylindrical wallsthereof, a base slidable in and out from within said walls, and acompressor and means for driving the same both mounted on said base.

III

2. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a hollow-walled condensercasing, a compres- I sor, a fan and a motor for driving said fan andcompressor all removably mounted within said casing, and means forclosing the open ends of the casing to form a compact inclosed unit.

3. A mechanical refrigerating apparatus comprising a base, a refrigerantcompressor mounted on said base, a motor mounted on said base andoperatively connected to said compressor, a condenser unit comprising acasing in the form of a tube in which said base is mounted and having achamber in the walls thereof connected with said compressor whereby therefrigerant is supplied to said chamber, and a detachable cap'mounted onsaid casing for completely incasing said motor and said compressorWithin said condenser casing.

4. A refrigerating unit comprising a. base, a compressor mounted on saidbase, a motor mounted on said base operatively connected to saidcompressor, and a condenser unit comprising a tubular casing having achamber therein, in communication with said compressor, said casingsupporting and inclosing said base, motor, and compressor.

5. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a cylindrical condenser casing,and a compressor and means for o crating the compressor both mounted witin and carried by the casing.

6. A refrigeratin apparatus comprising a horizontal cylin ricalcondenser casing, and a compressor and means for operating thecompressor both removably mounted within the casing.

In witness of the foregoing I afiix my signature.

FRENCH E. DENNISON.

